Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-07-23
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,H.HiStorz, Of :Hd2ehture
BY ]. RIDER HAGGARD.
CHAPTER XVI.
WHAT WE SAW.


Then came few moments pause, during
which Ayesha seemed to be gathering up her
strength for the fiery trial, while we chung to
each other and waited in utter silence.
At last, from far, far away came the first
murmur of sound, that grew and grew till it
began to crash and below in the distance As
she heard it, Ayesha swiftly threw off her
gauzy wrapping, loosened her golden snake
from her kirtle, and then, shaking her lovely
hair about her like q garment, beneath its
cover slipped the kirtle off, and replaced the
snaky belt around her and outside the masses
of falling hair. There she stood before us as
Eve might have stood before Adam, clad in
nothing but her abundant locks, held round
by her golden band; and no words of mine
can tell how sweet she looked-and yet how
divine. Nearer and nearer came the thunder
wheels of fire, and as they came she pushed
one ivory erin through the dark masses of
Der hair auI flung it round Leo's neck.
'.Qh, my love, my love" she murmured,
"wlt thcu ever know how have loved theel'
ard she kissed him on the forehead and then
went aud stood Ia the pathway of the flame
OF lie.
On came The crashing, rolling noise, anG
the sound thereof was as though forest were
being swept flat by mighty wind and then
tossed up by it like so much grass and thun.
dered down mountain side. Nearer and
nearer 1t came; now flashes of light, forerun.
rcls Of the revolving pillar of flame, were
passing Ike arrows through the rosy air. and
now The ed5e Ct the pillar itself appeared,
Aycsha turned toward it and stretched out
her arms TO greet it. On it came, very slow
H.. I, 4 Y
ahe fire run mp her form. / saw her lift it
with Both her hands as though it were water
1and pour it over her head. l even saw her
open her gaeat!, and draw it down into her
lungs, and "a shead and wonderful sight it
was.
Then she paused and stretched ont her arms
and stood there quite STILL with heavenly
smile upon her face, as though she were the
very spirit of the flame
The mysterious fro played up and dogu
shcr dark and rolling locks twining dtwist.
ding itself through and around them ike
threads of golden lace; it cleaned upon her
ivory breast ard shoulder, from which the
hair had slipped aside; it slid along her nil
lared throat and delicate features and seemed
to find home IN the glorious eyes that shone
and Shone more brightly even than the spirit
Ual cssenra
Oh, how beautiful she looked there in the
fame! No angel out of heaven could have
worn greater loneliness. Even now my
heart faints before the recollections of it as
.slrs stood and smiled at our awed faces, and
would give half my remaining time upon
this earth 10 see her once like that again,
But suddenly-more suddenly than can
.describe--a kind of change came over her
face, a change which could not define or ex-
plain on paper, but mono the less q change.
The smile vanished and in its place there
60 arv hard look; the rounded face
sa .,n to grow pinched, as though some
. s,rast anxiety we're leaving its impress upon
& The glorious eyes, too, lost their nghI,
nnd ss Thought, tho form its perfect shape
and erectness ,-,.,.. .ho+ xvas the
x,,rtim of some hallucination, or tnas tne ie
s,action from the intense light preduceu al
1etical ,lehision; and, as did SO, the ilaniins
sa;nsr slowly twisted and thundereu on
l -r it passes to in the bowels oil tn'
,r,',st earth. leaving Ayesha standing "uei'
- A. a. sSon rs IL was gone she stepped torwar'
.1 IL ~ side--it seemed to me that there wa
~ . s,,,.;ng In her step-and stretched on. ne
n ~ 30 Inv IL ON his shoulder. gazed q. ~
nal.u y Where WINS its wonderful roundnes
anl heautyl 1t was getting thin ana any u,a Ia
And her tace--by heavens-ner law